No abstract available.
Aeromonas* ; Enterotoxins*

BACKGREOUND: Tetracaine has been the most commonly used spinal anesthetic agent. Recently bupivacaine has been found to be a useful agent, and has been reported not to cause neurologic complications as well as being a better quality anesthetic. The purpose of this study was to compare the anesthetic effects of bupivacaine with that of tetracaine. METHODS: Forty patients undergoing lower abdomen and lower limb operation were randomly allocated to two groups. Group I (n=20) received 15mg, 0.5% tetracaine in 10% dextrose, while Group II (n=20) received 15mg, 0.5% bupivacaine in 8% dextrose. After intrathecal injection of the agent at the level of L3-4 intervertebral space, the changes in sensory and motor block, blood pressure and heart rate were measured in two groups. RESULTS: The onset time of sensory block was more rapid in Group I than in Group II. Two segment regression time of sensory block was significantly longer in Group II than in Group I (p<0.05). The time for maximum motor block was shorter in group I than in Group II (p<0.05), but the duration of decreased motor block was significantly longer in Group I. The change of systolic blood pressure in Group II was less than the change in Group I. CONCLUSIONS: Bupivacaine has a longer sensory block duration, a weaker, shorter motor block duration and yields a less change in systolic blood pressure than tetracaine in spinal anesthesia.
Abdomen ; Anesthesia, Spinal* ; Anesthetics ; Blood Pressure ; Bupivacaine* ; Glucose ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Injections, Spinal ; Lower Extremity ; Tetracaine*

Consideration of the nutritional status of patients with acute respiratory failure and mechanical ventilation is important for effective patient assessment and management. Patients with acute respiratory failure are at a high risk for developing malnutrition. High glucose intakes given during the administration of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) have been demonstrated to increase CO2 production. The workload imposed by the high CO2 production may precipitate respiratory distress in patients experiencing compromised pulmonary function. The authors report a case of successful weaning from mechanical ventilation in patient with post-operative ARDS by proper nutritional support and by changing the proportion of calories derived from carbohydrates and fats. Substitution of fat calories for carbohydrate in TNA solutions can reduce CO2 production and help wean patients from mechanical ventilation. Conclusively, the TNA (total nutrients admixture) system is more beneficial to patients with acute respiratory failure due to less CO2 production and surfactant production than TPN. For patients with hypercapnia, providing 25% to 30% of calories as carbohydrate and 50% to 55% of calories from fat may be beneficial.
Carbohydrates ; Fats ; Glucose ; Humans ; Hypercapnia ; Malnutrition ; Nutritional Status ; Nutritional Support* ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Respiration, Artificial ; Respiratory Insufficiency* ; Ventilator Weaning* ; Ventilators, Mechanical* ; Weaning

BACKGROUND: The National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) recommends that the analytical variability must not exceed 25% of the biological variability in automated blood cell analysis. This study was conducted to determine whether routine automated blood cell analysis by Coulter STKS (Coulter Corp., Miami, FL, U.S.A) comforms with the NCCLS's recommendations. METHODS: Routine CBC analysis with STKS was performed on 22 healthy volunteers. The tests included calculating WBC, RBC, hemoglobin, MCV, platelet, MPV, and percentages of the granulocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes. Blood samples were collected twice in one week interval to study the total variability. For the analytical variability, blood samples from 12 subjects were tested twice immediately after venipuncture for within-run variability, and samples from 10 subjects were tested immediately and 6 hours after venipuncture for within-day variability. The analytical variability was calculated as the sum of within-run and within-day variabilities. The biological variability was calculated by subtracting the analytical variability from total variability. The ratios of analytical and biological variabilities were calculated by dividing the analytical variability by the biological variability. RESULTS: Ratios of analytical and biological variabilities were as follows: 0.22 for WBC, 0.20 for RBC, 0.21 for hemoglobin, 0.39 for platelet, 1.98 for MPV, 0.07 for %granulocyte, 0.11 for %lymphocyte, and 1.81 for %monocyte. The ratio for MCV was not obtained because the analytical variability exceeded total variability. CONCLUSIONS: The analytical variability did not exceed 25% of the biological variability in all test categories except platelet, MPV and the percentage of monocyte. Thus, it is recommended that the analytic variability of all test categories be reduced so as to be in conformity with the NCCLS' recommendations.
Blood Cells* ; Blood Platelets ; Granulocytes ; Healthy Volunteers ; Lymphocytes ; Monocytes ; Phlebotomy

No abstract available.
Physiology* ; Prognosis* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* ; Respiratory Insufficiency*

PURPOSE: To report a case of uveitis in both eyes caused by Sweet's syndrome. CASE SUMMARY: A 66-year-old male presented with decreased visual acuity in his left eye. Three years prior he was diagnosed with Sweet's syndrome, with symptoms such as chill, fever and, maculopapular rash on the chest. At initial physical examination, he had 3 or 4+ inflammatory cells and flare in the anterior chambers of both eyes, as well as hypopyon in his left eye. Under the suspicion of uveitis caused by Sweet's syndrome, he was rescribed an IV steroid injection and topical steroid agent. Three days later, his visual acuity improved to 0.3 in the right eye and 0.2 in the left eye. Hypopyon in the left eye disappeared and inflammatory cells decreased to 1~2+. He showed signs of recurrence in both eyes after 5 months and was treated with posterior subtenon triamcinolone injection in each eye. The patient showed no signs of recurrence for 10 months after injection. CONCLUSIONS: We report a case of uveitis caused by Sweet's syndrome treated with a steroid agent resulting in good prognosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is first case of uveitis caused by Sweet's syndrome reported in Korea.
Aged ; Anterior Chamber ; Exanthema ; Fever ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Physical Examination ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Sweet Syndrome* ; Thorax ; Triamcinolone ; Uveitis* ; Visual Acuity

BACKGROUND: The development of new drugs or alternative therapies effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is of great importance, and various natural anti-MRSA products are good candidates for combination therapies. We evaluated the antibacterial activities of a Phellinus baumii ethyl acetate extract (PBEAE) and its synergistic effects with beta-lactams against MRSA. METHODS: The broth microdilution method was used to determine the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the PBEAE. The PBEAE synergistic effects were determined by evaluating the MICs of anti-staphylococcal antibiotic mixtures, with or without PBEAE. Anti-MRSA synergistic bactericidal effects of the PBEAE and beta-lactams were assessed by time-killing assay. An ELISA was used to determine the effect of the PBEAE on penicillin binding protein (PBP)2a production. RESULTS: The MICs and MBCs of PBEAE against MRSA were 256-512 and 1,024-2,048 microg/mL, respectively. The PBEAE significantly reduced MICs of all beta-lactams tested, including oxacillin, cefazolin, cefepime, and penicillin. However, the PBEAE had little or no effect on the activity of non-beta-lactams. Time-killing assays showed that the synergistic effects of two beta-lactams (oxacillin and cefazolin) with the PBEAE were bactericidal in nature (Deltalog10 colony forming unit/mL at 24 hr: 2.34-2.87 and 2.10-3.04, respectively). The PBEAE induced a dose-dependent decrease in PBP2a production by MRSA, suggesting that the inhibition of PBP2a production was a major synergistic mechanism between the beta-lactams and the PBEAE. CONCLUSIONS: PBEAE can enhance the efficacy of beta-lactams for combined therapy in patients infected with MRSA.
Acetates/chemistry ; Agaricales/*chemistry/metabolism ; Anti-Infective Agents/chemistry/*pharmacology ; Drug Synergism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/*drug effects/metabolism ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Penicillin-Binding Proteins/analysis/metabolism ; Plant Extracts/chemistry/*pharmacology ; beta-Lactams/*pharmacology

This study examined the relationship between anger expression or alexithymia and coronary artery stenosis in patients with coronary artery diseases. 143 patients with coronary artery diseases (104 males and 39 females) were enrolled in this study. The severity of their coronary artery stenosis was measured by angiography. The Anger Expression Scale and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale were used to assess the level of anger expression and alexithymia. The more stenotic group (occluded by 75% or more) exhibited a significantly higher level of alexithymia than the less stenotic group (occluded by less than 25%). Multiple regression anaylsis on the extent of stenosis also revealed that regardless of gender and age, the coronary artery disease patients with higher alexithymia were likely to show a greater level of stenosis. However, no significant differences were found on either the anger-in or anger-out subscale scores between the two groups. These results suggest that alexithymia is associated with the severity of coronary artery stenosis in patients with coronary artery disease. However, both anger expression and anger suppression were not shown to be associated with the severity of coronary artery stenosis.
Adult ; Affective Symptoms/*epidemiology ; Aged ; *Anger ; Coronary Stenosis/*epidemiology/*psychology ; Female ; Human ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Severity of Illness Index

Most acinic cell carcinomas arise within the parotid gland: extraparotid origin is rare. We encountered three cases of extraparotid acinic cell carcinoma arising in the buccal or palatal region, or the submandibular gland. All three tumors presented as a painless, slow-growing mass. CT imaging indicated that they were well defined, homogeneously enhanced, round masses. In one case, sonography demonstrated relatively homogeneous low echogenicity.
Acinar Cells* ; Carcinoma, Acinar Cell* ; Parotid Gland ; Salivary Glands ; Submandibular Gland

No abstract available.
Humans ; Survival Rate*